County ponders road salt use

Heather Wright Lambton County officials are looking at alternatives to salt to clear winter roads.

Heather Wright

Lambton County officials are looking at alternatives to salt to clear winter roads.

The move comes after the county’s insurance company opted not to appeal a ruling that awarded an Alvinston-area farmer more than $100,000 for road salt damage to his crops and fields.

The City of Toronto has experimented with sugar beet juice and limestone chips to help clear roads of ice.

Public works manager Jason Cole said any solution other than the salt, sand and brine currently used would be more expensive.

“The salt we use we get from Goderich and the brine we get locally, so there are significant savings,” Cole said.

“We are regularly approached and … for example with beet juice, the cost was 10 times more.”